Dramatic developments in genetics research and the availability of commercial genetics tests have put us in a very modern predicament—we can now find out (quickly, easily and cheaply) whether we personally hold genetic risk factors that put us at a substantially increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, we have recently shown that brain changes can be identified in people holding these genetic risk variants as early as 20 years old.
Should we be testing ourselves? Should we worry? No. Here’s why:
Genetic research has revealed that some individuals carry variants of specific genes that confer an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in later life. For example, carriers of the ε4 variant of the APOE gene are approximately
